Format Change Announced

Philip Pape 0:00

Hey, this is Philip, and I've got a quick one for you today with an announcement that's gonna affect how you listen to this show going forward because I'm making a change in the structure, the frequency of episodes. It's something I've been thinking about for a while with the goal of making the content and making every episode you hear even better. And then I need something from you that's gonna help shape the content you hear in the coming months. And this is short, stick around. I think you're gonna like where this is going.

Why Two Episodes A Week

Philip Pape 0:27

What is happening is next month, starting in March 2026, Wits and Weights is gonna go from three episodes a week to two episodes a week. All right, now before you panic, all right, or celebrate, depending on how full your podcast feed is, I'm gonna explain my thinking real quick for those of you who like behind-the-scenes stuff. For a while now, a long while now, I've been releasing episodes three days a week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And so far we're well over 400 numbered episodes and over 500 total episodes of, you know, our focus, which is evidence-based fitness and nutrition content that's totally free to help you out. And I'm very, very proud of what we've built together. And I say we because the podcast wouldn't exist without you, the listener, as well as all of your ideas that come my way. What I've realized though is more isn't always better. And this year is the year of skinnying down things that are a lot of quantity and time in my life that take away from things that are higher quality. And I think this is a win-win for both of us for what I can deliver

Tuesdays Solo Deep Dives

Philip Pape 1:28

to you. So, what we're gonna do is two episodes a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesdays, you're gonna get the solo episodes, the deep dives, where I go over frameworks, myth busting, the physique engineering approach, all the fun stuff you love with my individual topics, sometimes hot takes, sometimes you know, a little bit of controversy thrown in. And that's Tuesdays.

Rethinking Guest Interviews

Philip Pape 1:48

On Thursdays, you'll either get another one of those or a guest interview. Now, today we have guest interviews every week. The problem with the guest interviews is they don't have as much engagement. The the topics are t tend to be all over the place because you can't guarantee you know specific guests for specific times, and and the quality isn't as high as I'd like. Now, I love all the guests we've had on this show. If you're listening and you were guests, I'm grateful to you for sure. But I have a certain set of standards, as do you, as to what we should cover on this show and what the quality of the guest background is. And so my promise to you is to be extremely selective. And I've said no probably over 50 times in the last two or three months to guest pitches. And I'm keeping the list really short. So my goal is to keep the guest to solo ratio heavily weighted toward the solo content, which is what you tend to love and engage with, and where I can really address my worldview and thoughts on the this evidence and these topics, but then still bring on very selective guests where I think you're gonna learn a lot from something different, somebody who has good experience, good credentials. And then I'm still gonna drop the occasional bonus episode like this one right here, when something timely comes up, or I want to just say what's on my mind, do a QA. Maybe I've appeared on another show, I want to share that with you and share other great podcasters, maybe an announcement of something cool going on with Physique University or the app or whatever, like whatever that is. Of course, you're always welcome to delete an episode if it doesn't

Quality, Focus, And Listener Time

Philip Pape 3:16

interest you. Now, why am I doing this? To kind of get behind the scenes of my head. The first reason is quality over quantity. Like I said, I'm 2026 is the year of quality. I'm trying to reduce things on my plate, spend more time with my family, with delivering to clients, with learning and being a better coach and expert in the field, and all of those things that I consider the more important work than just trying to pump out content. And so I want every episode to be worth your, say, 20 or 30 minutes. Notice that a lot of my solo episodes an hour are 30 minutes or even a little bit shy of them, and they used to be longer as well. I want you to walk away from each one with something you can use, something you can take action on. Notice that lately a lot of my episodes have a little quick tip at the very end that's like an extra bonus tip, right? So it's not just more content, it's very, very intentional. And when I look at episodes that have performed best, which isn't just the the highest downloads, a lot of our episodes get, I'll say similar downloads. It's the one with the highest listen through rates or what they call engagement or consumption rate for those interested in this stuff, and where where people tend to drop off. And that is where I say, hey, people want to keep hearing the content and they want to hear right to the end and dig in and think and and and craft a plan for their life to get better. I want to impact you guys to get better in your lives, to improve. That's my goal. So, two episodes a week gives me that space to do that for you. And hopefully, this is the second reason. I know your time is limited. You're working, you're stressed out. I actually did a lot of analysis on demographics and how you listen to podcasts, right? A lot of you do it while doing chores or lifting weights or in the car. And so you're trying to multitask and you're trying to train, you're trying to do all the things we talk about. Maybe you're raising kids, maybe you're, you know, a busy job. You don't need just another

Your Questions Shape The Show

Philip Pape 5:05

podcast demanding three or four or five hours your week. And I know some of you listen to other podcasts that drop multiple days a week, maybe every day a week. And even then, I hear you're not listening to the whole show. You're just skipping ahead to the things that matter. So you notice my show, I try not to have much fluff. I don't have any co-hosts where we banter or anything like that. I kind of jump right into it. That's the way I would want to hear it. Unlike today's bonus episode where I'm kind of rambling, but hopefully not. Hopefully, you find this interesting. And so, two episodes is something that you can consume and apply, and I hope you do. The third reason I'm doing this, and I'm gonna be honest, it is more sustainable for me, right? I'm not gonna go anywhere. This podcast isn't going anywhere, but I want to keep doing this for years to come to keep bringing you the best I've got, and I need a rhythm that works long term. And this is that rhythm, and and this is walking the walk, guys, because we talk about mental health, we talk about balance and and uh stress in your life, and this is what I need for my health. And I but I think it's gonna be a win-win for all of us anyway. Now, here's what I need from you, here's where you come in. Because with this new schedule, I'm being even more intentional about the topics I cover, and I want them to come from you. And by the way, this could affect guests that I select as well, not just the solo episodes. So, what questions do you have? I want you to go to witsandweights.com slash question. What are you struggling with now in your training, nutrition, mindset, behavior, the mental side of things, psychology, anything? What topic have you been hoping that I would cover, but I still haven't yet? You're like, Philip, why haven't you covered this yet? What the heck? I've gotten some recent topics where someone says, Hey, no podcast is covering this thing. Can you do it? And I I've covered it. In fact, you may have already it may have come out already, maybe not yet. I cover there's an episode about five signs that you are building muscle, and that came from an inspiration from a question about D-loads. And you you'll know what I mean when you hear the episode. So maybe it's something about your time of life, maybe your pair menopause or menopause, and it's tied to lifting a body composition. Maybe it's how to structure different cuts

Topics We Want From You

Philip Pape 7:03

and bulks in different scenarios, like when you have vacation. Maybe it's something about your scale weight, maybe it's you know how how to make behavior stick, or or you know what it is? It could be something trendy. Maybe it's about GLP1s, retatrotide, right? Yeah, I think I said that right. I always screwed that word up, even when I see it a billion times. Whatever it is I want to hear, go to wits and weights.com slash question. That's witsandweights.com slash question. You can submit a detailed question there. If I use it on the show, I'll give you a shout out by name, but I will reply to that no matter what. I'll reply to your email. Even if it's a personal question that you just want an answer to, I'll usually give you an answer and I'll cover it on the show. Seriously, seriously. This is how I decide what to cover 90% of my topics. The best episodes that you guys really like the most usually come from client questions and problems, listener questions and problems. Because when you're dealing with an issue, chances are hundreds or thousands of other people are dealing with the same thing and wondering how to how to answer it. So don't hold back on me. Please go to wits and weights.com slash question and tell me what you want to learn.

Quick Recap And Next Steps

Philip Pape 8:03

So quick recap starting in March, new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday are solo episodes, Thursday are solo get or guest. You'll still see bonus episodes. And if you want to shape what you hear on the show, go to wits and weights.com slash question. I'm very excited about this change. Do you ever you know that you know that when you decide to delete something from your to-do list or delegate something, or you just finally decide to take a plunge to something big, maybe it's a new job that actually you're gonna enjoy more and is gonna take something off your plate. That's how excited I am. I think you're gonna notice a difference in the episodes themselves, the amount of research I can do, the depth, the thought, the frameworks, the contrarian, you know, hot takes, whatever that makes the show what it is. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening, and I will talk to you next time.